From the minute that Blaine walked out the front doors of McKinley High and saw his brother's car waiting for him in the parking lot, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

No more worries of whether or not that night at dinner he would slip up and get hit. No more thoughts of Kurt Hummel...well, maybe just a few. No more hiding who he really was.

"You ready little bro? The plane leaves in three hours so let's get a move on."

"Let's go, Coop." Blaine responded, fastening his seatbelt.

New York.

"We're really here, huh?" Blaine asked as he exited the airport, fighting to keep his bags in an upright position.

"Home sweet...TAXI!" Cooper flagged down the yellow vehicle.

Nearly every taxi that they saw had an ad for a Broadway musical. 

This was it. Blaine Anderson had arrived.

The taxi pulled up to a small apartment building a few miles from Time Square.

"So this is it. Your new home." Cooper said, turning his head to see Blaine's reaction.

"I didn't think a shitty run-down apartment would ever look this good." Blaine replied, laughing to himself.

"He's back. My smartass little brother has returned. Also, Blaine. Before we go in...promise me...no more pills. I will childproof the cabinets and drawers...the ones you can reach at least."

"And you say that I'm the smartass..."

Cooper wrapped his arm around Blaine's neck, pulling him into a headlock.

"Ow! Coop! Let go!" Blaine fell into an uncontrollable laughing fit.

Blaine dropped his bags on the floor as he entered Cooper's apartment.

"Do you like it?" Cooper asked, pushing Blaine's bags from the middle of the floor.

Blaine looked around, his nose scrunching slightly at the bizarre smell that filled the air, "Oh yeah, Coop, this is great."

"No need to be sarcastic. I know that it isn't all that but I mean it's something. It doesn't matter what it looks like, just as long as we have eachother."

"Don't be getting all sentimental on me." Blaine shrugged his brother's arm from his shoulder.

Cooper clapped his hands together, "What do you want to do tonight?"

"Sleep." Blaine replied, flopping himself down on the sofa.

"Sorry Bud, that isn't gonna be happening. It's your first night in New York! We have to do something fun! I know this great little Italian place right near all of the theatres..."

"Theatres?" Blaine perked up at the word.

"Duh Blaine, Broadway, I'm sure you've heard of it. It's where really talented people sing and..."

"Cooper! Not an idiot! I just...I never thought that I would ever be this close to Broadway theatres."

"It is New York or have you already forgotten?"

"It's kinda hard to forget when you can't go five words without saying New York."

"We, one, can, two, go, three, to, four, the, five, restaurant, six, then, seven, walk, eight, down, nine, Broadway, ten, street, eleven, since we are in New York afterall... I think I went about fifteen words that time Blainers."

"Jackass."

"It's my job! But anyway, does that sound okay?"

"Of course it does!"

"Well, shower, pee, do whatever, but we are leaving in a hour!"

Blaine pulled himself together, taking nearly twenty minutes to pick out the perfect outfit. This was his debut, his first night and he was going to make an entrance.

"Well don't you just look as dapper as ever?" Cooper mocked.

"I wish I could say the same." Blaine retaliated.

"I really missed this Blaine."

"What? The constant bantering?"

"Well yes, that, but being able to eat dinner with you again."

"Well get used to it, you're sorta stuck with me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Passing through Time Square was nothing like Blaine ever thought it would be.

He had seen it in movies before, sure, but he never imagined that it would be this breathtaking.

Lights flickering, people bustling around, cars honking, a huge ass Disney store that Kurt would...

Kurt.

And there was that gut-being-punched feeling again.

Kurt was going to be here at the end of summer though, so he was going to experience all of this too, just not with Blaine.

The simple thought of Kurt riding around in a taxi, telling the imaginary man next to him about everything that he is seeing, wishing Blaine was there next to him...

But that isn't going to happen because he doesn't love me anymore.

Blaine directed his attention back to all of the signs as he tried to read each one before the taxi passed it.

This was what he needed. A real family and a place that really felt like home.